Weekend Breakfast with Africa

Gauteng Social Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza says that it is important for the provincial government to work with communities to combat the drug problem affecting youth.

Mayathula-Khoza is leading a movement by the provincial government to take drug addicted youths off the street and to place them into rehabilitation programmes.

Speaking on #NightTalk with Gugs Mhlungu and Sizwe Dhlomo, Mayathula-Khoza says that these programmes offer a holistic approach to helping youth to understand the dangers of drug abuse.

Listen to the conversation below:

We're not criminalising the use (of drugs) as such. What we're doing is to help young people in particular because it is the parents that suffer. It is the community that suffers. The young people suffer too, and they may not realise the danger of what they're doing

— Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, Gauteng Social Development MEC

In South Africa, the average age of people who take drugs is 28, so these are very young people. We are also told through studies that the drug which is being used is cannabis. Alcohol, cocaine, mandrax and nyaope are the other drugs

— Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, Gauteng Social Development MEC

Realising that it (drug abuse) is a societal problem and it affects the community, it is very important that we all work together